I would like to thank Julie for helping me with the development of Lewis and Jenny P.
Rainforest Marathon
That night after the party was over Bart, Pete, Mallory, and Stacey all came back to Logan and Mary Anne's house. They all sat around on the patio talking about Pete's campaign and the Rainforest Marathon the next morning.
Lewis asked Pete a lot of questions about his campaign. "Not only do I have a booth for the Rainforest Marathon tomorrow but I am also running in it. And then tomorrow night is the Rotary Club party. I've been working with them on getting some people to visit here more often from different cultures. Dawn and I have been making our rounds to different places in Stoneybrook and one thing I've noticed is although the town is progressing the people haven't been exposed to culture outside of Stoneybrook that much. And there seems to be an unwelcomeness to outsiders. I hope that we can improve. I hope Stoneybrook welcomes you into their social circles and you feel at home here, Lewis."
"Thanks, Pete. I feel pretty welcome so far. And I've got Logan and Mary Anne to show me around and introduce me to people."
"Some may tease you at first about your accent but they'll get used to you."
"Logan and Mary Anne have invited me to the Rotary Club party. I'm sure I will meet some people there."
"For sure. And good people."
"Tell me more about the marathon."
"Well, there will be booths set up all up and down Main Street and throughout the route. Local businesses signed up to promote their products and show off their eco-friendly things. There will also be food vendors and arts and crafts. Not much happens in Stoneybrook so any excuse to the party we pretty much go all out."
"That sounds like a lot of fun."
"It will be. And some healthy competition between some of our guests here tonight."
Everyone smiled.
The next morning Dawn woke up well-rested and psyched for the marathon. She put on her marathon t-shirt that had cute rainforest animals and plants on it with "Save the Rainforest" written on the front. She put on her island print shorts and a bright teal tutu and topped it off with blue butterfly earrings and running sneakers.
She ate a granola and yogurt breakfast and washed it down with some orange juice out on her balcony. She was surprised to see Logan, Mary Anne, and Mona we're already up and loading up the car with ice chests of water. Logan had done labels for the water printed up with his law firm advertised on them to pass out to runners during the race.
Mona was dressed head to toe in an island print bandana on her head. Mary Anne was a little more subtle in her Rainforest t-shirt and plain black bike shorts but had neon green socks and neon green leaf earrings.
It was then that Dawn heard a noise at the balcony next to hers and saw Lewis come out. He already had a beer in his hand.
"Need any help down there Logan?"
"Yeah, we still have the banner to load up and the sound system."
Lewis rushed down to help them and Dawn got a text from Bart. "Are you ready yet?"
"Let's Do This!" She texted back.
"I'll be there in 5 min."
When they got to Main Street they couldn't believe the transformation. People had booths all along the sidewalk. Others had lined up lawn chairs and coolers to sit and watch the race. There was music blasting from speakers. Erica Blumberg had set up with the tv station right by the starting line and Dawn could see Stacey talking to her in a matter top and sun hat. Kristy and Abby, we're at Charlie's Good Sport booth giving out koozies and demonstrating their eco-friendly straws. Shannon and Robert, we're at the Rotary Club booth. Dawn scanned the sea of booths until she found Jamie's. While making her way through the crowd she stopped and her jaw dropped. There, right next to Jaime's booth was Cokie Mason and some other girls with beehive hairdos, Rainforest Marathon t-shirts, and short cut-off jean shorts. Dawn looked up and saw it was the booth for Gloriana's House of Hair. Dawn kept walking but was laughing to herself and made a mental note to make sure she beat Cokie in the race.
"Hey! You made it!" Said Jamie.
"Yep! I'm also ready to kick some ass!" Said, Dawn.
They chatted for a few minutes then she went back to Logan and Mary Anne to get ready to line up and get their numbers for the marathon. As they stood in line she pointed Cokie out to Mary Anne and Mona. As they got closer to the check-in booth Dawn saw that Jenny's campaign booth was right next to it. It was red, white, and blue and said "The Stars and Stripes of Stoneybrook" above it with a Hollywood headshot of Jenny in one of the stars. Jenny was signing autographs and taking pictures with people lined up at her booth. On the other side was Pete's booth. He said, "Beat the Heat, Vote for Sneaky Pete". He was giving out cooling sweatband bandanas made out of recycled plastic bottles. There were a lot more people at Pete's booth than Jenny's. Mary Anne and Dawn stopped at Pete's booth after getting their numbers.
" Good luck! Looks like you are already beating the competition."
They got some bandanas for themselves and Logan and Bart. Mary Anne and Mona left Dawn while she went over to the bandstand where Bart was talking to Ben. "Here I picked this up for you. It will keep you cool while we are running."
"Thanks. Are you ready to do this?"
"Are you kidding? We have been training forever. Plus, now I've got some healthy competition. I need to at least beat Cokie Mason and Jenny or the girls will never let me live it down."
"Those two? Oh please. Cokie will drop out as soon as her beehive deflates and Jenny will dramatically break a nail."
Dawn laughed. "I hope you're right."
"A kiss for luck?" Bart asked. Dawn kissed him and Ben came by.
"Hey hey, you two. I hate to break this up but I'm about to announce runners to get to the starting line. You don't want those prissy to win. Go! Go! I have money on you two!"
They said goodbye to Ben and started making their way through the crowd. Ben got up on the stage and the band started to play "Don't Stop Belivin'". At the end of the song, he told everyone registered to line up at the starting line. After a brief reading of the official rules, Ben shot off a gun in the air and everyone started moving.
Dawn's strategy was to try to keep up generally in the middle until the last mile of the race. She figured by keeping a steady pace of power walking in the beginning and waiting for the others to tire out or drop out before using up all her energy to cross the finish line. Besides, she didn't want to lose the experience of being a part of the movement. It was incredible. And just seeing the community and Stoneybrook in that way was something she wanted to remember forever. She knew Mona and Mary Anne were just there for the experience, too, and we're not as into winning.
They saw Richard and Sharon in the crowd on the sidelines and walked over to them for a picture and then continued walking.
" You know Dawn you really should come with us to see them next week. You can't avoid your mom forever." Mary Anne said.
"I know. I just want to figure out what is going on. If Morbidda is my relative why would she keep it from me?"
" I don't know. But you don't even know if it is true or not."
"Yeah, you're right. I will come along with you next week."
" Good." Mary Anne smiled and hugged her sister.
They walked a while in silence just taking in the atmosphere. They were reaching the corner of Rosedale by the hospital and they could hear the cheers from the crowd. People were waving signs for people, for the Rainforest, and Pete and Jenny. Radios we're blasting WSTO where you could hear The Junk Bucket playing cover songs.
Dawn turned to Bart. "Is this not amazing?" She asked.
"It's incredible," Bart said.
They linked arms and at that moment they heard someone calling Dawn's name in the crowd. It was Rick Chow. He had his fancy camera and yelled "Smile for the paper!"
Bart, Mona, Dawn, and Mary Anne posed for Rick and he snapped a picture. A few feet away they saw Claudia in the crowd who gave them all water. "We are all stationed throughout the marathons route to give you guys water. As soon as you guys leave my area another one of us will be stationed not too far away. As soon as you pass me, I'm heading to the finish line. We will all meet you there! Good luck!"
They continued down the street. "You guys think of everything don't you?" Asked Bart.
"What do you mean?"
"You and your friends. I've never seen a group of people so prepared all the time."
"Well, when you've grown up around Kristy..."
"Enough said."
They rounded the corner to Elm Street and the crowds cheered again. Dawn tried to keep Cokie and Jenny in her view. It was easy to spot Cokie with that beehive hairdo but Jenny and her group were harder to keep tabs on. Sometimes they were in front, sometimes behind her. Pete was always a little bit ahead of them despite stopping to take photos with the crowd every so often. And Jamie was running around with a bag giving out water and granola bars to people. Every so often he would stop to walk with Dawn and Bart like this Amazon social butterfly.
Dawn looked out into the crowd. She saw Rick Chow again taking more pictures. Dawn wondered how he got there so fast. He must be driving to different locations along the route, Dawn thought. He was taking a picture of Karen and Alan. As soon as Karen saw them she ran up to see if they needed any water. "Dad and Liz are at home. They said they'd come out and give you water and snacks once you get to their street. You are doing great!"
They went back to walking. Dawn looked around and saw Cokie and her big headed croons behind them. Pete was up ahead taking photos with a baby. Dawn couldn't see Jenny anywhere in site.
"What's the matter?" Asked Mary Anne.
"I don't see Jenny anywhere. I can't find her!"
"Oh I bet she is lagging behind or dropped out."
"I hope you're right. I want to beat Cokie but losing out to Jenny would be even worse."
Dawn decided to get her phone out and send a text out to the group in group text. Maybe someone saw her up ahead or lagginging behind. A few minutes later, one by one, they all texted back that they did not see her anywhere. Where could she have gone to? Dawn hoped she had given up and went on home.
Dawn tried to forget about it and enjoy the rest of the marathon. They were getting close to Watson's now and she could get a piece of fruit and some water before the second half of the route.
"Don't worry about it Dawn. Everyone knows Jenny is a flake anyways." Said Bart.
They soon saw the familiar campaign signs coming up to Watson's mansion. Watson had a box of raisins ready for Dawn. She told him about losing Jenny on the route. He said he hadn't seen her ahead of them. Pete came up to give Watson a high five and Dawn told him about how she lost where Jenny was. "It's ok. We are all just here to have a good time."
They continued on down the street. Dawn tried to forget about Jenny and have a good time. She must have not had a good poker face though because Pete and Bart started dancing a jig around her as they walked. Dawn giggled. Then she linked arms with Mary Anne and Mona and they skipped down the street singing "We Are Off To See The Wizard".
They were finally reaching the home stretch. Dawn took one more look around. She saw Cokie was still behind her. She didn't see Jenny or her friends at all. She took one last swig of water from the bottle.
" Ready to run?" She asked Bart.
"On the count of 3. 1, 2,3!"
And off they ran. They passed Pete and a few others that were still just pretty much power walking. Cokie saw Dawn take off and also started running. They passed the main crowd of runners and we're now amongst the serious runners. She still saw no sign of Jenny. She saw Mallory on the sidelines by the stakes and Mallory held up a neon poster that said "Go Dawn!" Dawn waved at her as she crowded on past. Dawn and Bart were pretty much head to head running together. When Dawn turned back to face the front she saw Jenny and her campaign team magically directly ahead of her. They were running fast and they did not seem as sweaty or tired as everyone else. Before they knew it they could see the finish line in sight and could hear all the cheers. Bart and Dawn started pounding the pavement as hard as they possibly could. No matter how fast they ran, they just couldn't keep up with Jenny. They were always several feet behind them. And before they knew it, Jenny crossed the finish line and had won the race. Dawn and Bart came in 5th and 6th place.
After everyone ran up to congratulate them Dawn collapsed under Jamie's booth. Jenny got a huge reception in the winner's circle. She made a speech which was basically just an advertisement for her campaign. The entire thing was making Dawn mad. She knew they had to have cheated somehow. But how?
Dawn and Bart decided to get some food from the vendors and have a little picnic lunch. Dawn and can't sat at a picnic table behind Jamie's booth. Bart had a giant fried turkey leg and Dawn had a Ceaser salad. Claudia came over to them. "You guys are amazing! I'm so proud of you!"
"Claudia when did you get back to the finish line today?" Asked Dawn.
"About 15 min after I left you from giving out water, why?"
"I'm convinced Jenny cheated to win the race just to promote her campaign for mayor. Did you see her before she crossed the finish line?"
" No. I was talking to Logan when the crowd started cheering. That's when I saw Jenny and her friends crossing the finish line."
"Did you see their hair was perfectly in place and they had perfect make up on? They aren't as sweaty as everyone else too."
"You know, you're right now that you mention it. But how?"
"I dont know. I was looking for her because I was keeping tabs on her and Cokie. I didn't see them after we saw Karen and Alan and before Watson's."
"I didn't see them on my way back either."
"We need to get everyone together and get their stories. That's it I'm calling an emergency meeting."
"When? We have the Rotary Club party tonight."
"After the party. I need to get then while their memories are still fresh. I'm sending a text out. We need to gather as many people as we know we're here today."
"Good idea. Tell Stacey to bring Erica Blumberg. The tv station was here filming. And I will get Rick Chow. He was taking photos all throughout the marathon today."
Dawn was going to get to the bottom of this if it was the last thing she was ever going to do.
